


Hell

by NukeRose



Category: The Fosters (TV 2013), The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Immune Characters, M/M, Violence, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-15
Updated: 2016-11-09
Packaged: 2018-04-20 23:50:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4806854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NukeRose/pseuds/NukeRose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jude and Connor are all each other have left of their old life before the walkers. They were stranded during a vacation to Orlando, and wandered aimlessly for months. Separated from the rest of the family, they encounter a sword wielding woman in the Georgia woods, accompanied by a teenage boy with a black machete...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Welcome To Hell

Connor's POV (September 15th 2015):

"Keep Jude safe, Connor. Keep him safe. RUN!"

Those were the last words that were ever uttered by Stefanie Adams Foster.

Thirty seconds later, she was dead. Torn to pieces in front of our eyes by walking corpses as she tried to give the rest of us the time required for our escape from the dead to succeed. Those final orders, are words I will never forget, nor will I ever cease to obey them. Those words, their instruction, are my life's mission as we wander around the backwoods of Georgia in 90 degree heat. I will sacrifice anything, and anyone, if it means that Jude stays alive. That may sound cold, it may sound terrible, but honestly I don't care.

How did we ended up in Georgia? We had been in Florida, at Universal in Orlando on a two week vacation when it happened. Jude had pleaded, begged, and employed moderate amounts of emotional blackmail to con Stef, Lena, and my Dad to allow my accompaniment on their family vacation. My explanation was so that Jude and I could spend as much time together as possible before my then impending relocation to live with my mom in Los Angeles. My dad finally relented when Jude started to cry softly while begging, which he ceased immediately upon gaining my Dad's consent. I laughed so hard at that.

I miss laughing.

I haven't laughed since we left Orlando.

About a day and a half after we landed in Florida, shit started to hit the fan. It started off simple at first. Videos on the internet of cops unloading whole magazines worth of ammo into people, and only succeeding in their destruction with a well placed bullet to the brain. Rumors on social media that a strange sickness was going around.

It only took another day and a half before we actually saw one for the first time.

It looked normal. Human. But it obviously wasn't. It was snarling at us as it meandered toward us with an unsteady gait. It's eyes were glazed over and bloodshot. His skin was pale, almost translucent. It attacked Jude. Almost bit him. Thank god for Stef. 

"If it's dead, destroy its head." Jude had muttered to himself about a day later, after speaking naught a single word for that whole time.

Over the next week, the situation steadily deteriorated. Within four more days, the governors of California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Montana, Idaho, North and South Dakota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan had all declared states of emergency. When the news networks stopped broadcasting the following day, the only place in the United States that seemed to be free of infection and were relatively safe were Hawaii and Michigan's Mackinac Island, both of which had quarantined themselves as soon as things started to fall apart, and instated mandatory emergency measures stating that all recently deceased were to have their brain's destroyed, either by gunshot or knife, and their bodies burned or buried.

Jude's words are basically the rest of the surviving world's motto now, isn't it?

If it's dead, destroy its head.

It's been two years, and after all that time, we are all we have left of our old lives. Neither of us have any idea where our families are. My dad was still in San Diego, as far as I knew, and I remained blissfully ignorant as to his current state. I only knew that he was still alive when the phone networks went down, because it cut out right in the middle of a phone call to him. We were separated from the rest of the family in October of 2014. The only reason I know when, is because Jude is keeping track of the date. We were with Lena, Jesus, Brandon, Callie and Mariana. A massive heard swept through the small section of Georgia forest that we were camping in, cutting us off from them.

"CONNOR! TAKE JUDE AND GO! GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!"

"WE CAN'T LEAVE YOU!" I had screamed back.

"GO! RUN FOR YOUR FUCKING LIVES!"

Those were the final words Jude and I ever heard Brandon say. The last we had seen of any of them, we saw from a distance as they ran for their lives as well. We looked for them for over a week, and our search turned up nothing, so we set out on our own.

The first thing we did was find us some weapons. I eventually selected a .22 rifle that we found in an abandoned shack in the middle of the woods about a week into being by ourselves as my primary weapon. I remembered my dad saying something about that being the most common kind of ammunition once. About a week later, we happened across an abandoned hunting supplies store, and we were both surprised to see that a fair amount of its inventory remained untouched. I chose a 9mm pistol as my secondary weapon. It was an M9, a pistol I recalled using on numerous occasions in various video games. We loaded up our pockets, plus two duffle bags apiece, full of ammo for the rifle and my pistol and hit the road again.

It was with reluctance that I chose the guns. I loathed to select firearms, due to the recurring trauma caused from my getting shot in the foot while gallivanting around the neighborhood in the middle of the night with Daria, Taylor, and a reluctant Jude. Jude absolutely refused to touch guns since then. He prefers blades. As a backup weapon, he carries a big hunting knife that he found in the same abandoned hunting shack that I found my rifle and pistol. I think it's called a bowie knife. His primary weapon, is an old saber. I have no idea how he got lucky enough to find it, but he discovered it in the basement of some random house. I was skeptical that it would hold up to the kind of heavy punishment it was destined to receive, via the dismemberment of hundreds of cannibal corpses, but it hasn't broke yet. He keeps it as sharp as it's possible for it to be.

We've both changed a lot since the onset of the outbreak.

We've both been forced through our metamorphosis kicking and screaming. Almost literally. We've both became shadows of our former selves, Jude and I. Whereas before the walkers Jude wouldn't hurt a fly, now is a time where I can say with dead honesty that he butchered somebody, and that he witnessed me disembowel a man who attempted to rape him.

Me first. It was in January of 2015. We had already settled down to sleep for the night. The traps around our tent were set, and we were both exhausted, having been awake for twenty hours straight. Jude woke up after four hours sleep, and told me that he needed to go to the bathroom. Ten minutes after he exited the tent, he hadn't returned, so I went searching for him. I discovered him, gagged by duct tape, pinned against a tree with his pants around his ankles by a mountain of a man who was unfastening his belt to lower his own jeans. My memory of the event cuts out as I lurched forward at almost inhuman speed and plunged my knife into the square of the man's back, severing his spine and rendering him paralyzed on the ground, but still alive.

I don't remember anything of what happened next. But Jude does. He saw everything. He remembers it all with vivid detail.

"How does it feel, you sick bastard?" I had snarled at the man, "To be powerless? Weak? Frightened? ON THE VERGE OF DEATH?"

I drove my knife into his stomach and wrenched it upwards, my face warping into a look of sadistic pleasure as an agonized screaming gargle was emitted from the man's throat as I opened his torso with my knife like the zipper of a duffle bag. I stabbed the knife into his various organs, such as his kidneys, his liver, and his stomach, but I left his lungs and heart alone. I fired a shot into the air, alerting nearby walkers to the presence of what promised to be an easy and satisfying meal. Before we left, I noticed that the man was wearing some rings on his grubby fingers, a couple of which I quickly removed. My memory cuts back in while Jude and I were quickly packing up our campsite and extinguishing the fire. About twenty minutes later, after we fled the scene, I stopped to give him one of the rings.

"What's this?" Jude asked me as he put the ring on his finger.

"Wedding ring." I said, putting the other on mine.

He stared at me, his eyes wide.

"Seriously?" He muttered.

"Yeah. Might as well be." I said.

He just continued to stare at me.

"I mean, we both always said that we'd end up getting married someday. And If we ever find someplace safe, I will give you an actual wedding." I assured him shakily, trying to rub the blood on my hands off on my pants, "I promise. Until then, though... the ring and title alone will have to suffice. You and I will be together till the very end. Till death do us part. We live together, we die together."

It was a strange, and slightly ridiculous thing to do. Two fourteen year olds alone in the apocalypse having an impromptu wedding while fleeing the scene of a brutal disembowelment.

Ugh. Maybe we really HAVE lost our minds.

Anyway, as mentioned, I can also say that I witnessed him beat a man to death with a crowbar in a flashback induced moment of psychotic rage. The man was slime, and was attempting to rape a female survivor who he had lured into his hideout with promises of food, water and rest.

Instead, she was beaten, starved further, and sexually assaulted at every moment the man felt convenient. She escaped and ran into us, and pleaded with us for help. She was with us for three days before the swine tracked us down and tried to kill all three of us in the middle of the night. I was knocked to the ground, and Jude and I watched helpless as the man butchered the woman, stabbing her repeatedly in the stomach with a switchblade knife as she screamed. Jude snapped, and grabbed the crowbar he had been wielding until he could find something better. One hit to the head knocked the man out. Two more killed him. After another five, there wasn't much left of the man's head to wail on.

We both ran from the scene, rather stupidly leaving behind most of our food. Neither of us could stomach the thought of having to go back and retrieve our supplies, so we didn't even bother.

I held Jude the whole night as he cried.

"What are we becoming, Connor?" He whimpered to me, clinging to me as if I would spontaneously combust if released.

"We're becoming survivors." I responded, pressing my lips softly into my slightly younger boyfriend's hair, "We will make it through this. I promise, my beloved."

Beloved. That's my pet name for him now. Funny that I was the one who started using them first, when I suspected that Jude would be the one to start that. I don't remember where it came from. I think it was from some cheesy British movie we watched one night about a week after the LGBT prom. I was just doing it to be a dork, but Jude just giggled at me and gave me a soft kiss on the cheek. I decided that I couldn't care less about dorkiness, and thus the name stuck.

Just about the only thing that hasn't changed about us, is that we are still in love with each other. I never hesitate to tell Jude that I love him, and he doesn't hesitate either.

Like I said, we're all we have left of the old world.

Today, we stood, at safe distance, outside of what was left of a prison complex.

The building was on fire. The massive fence that surrounded it was collapsed in multiple spots. A tank, an honest to god fucking _tank,_ sat inside the second gate, and was also smoldering. Hundreds of walkers were roaming around the exterior and interior of the complex.

"Jesus." I whispered.

"Looks like a war happened here." Jude agreed quietly, so we didn't attract the attention of certain despised flesh hungry abominations.

"Do you think anybody survived?" I asked.

"I don't think we should stick around to find out." Jude commented, "Let's get the heck out of here."


	2. Terminal Endeavor: Part 1.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jude and Connor meet up with a boy their own age, who is accompanied by a certain female "samurai".

Connor's POV:

It's been about two days since we moved on from the prison, and so far things are going well. We managed to slip back out of the area without attracting the attention of any ravenous hordes, and now Jude and I stand in front of a handmade sign along the railroad tracks.

_"Terminus. Sanctuary for all. Those who arrive, survive."_

A shiver of dread goes careening down our spines as I pull out a can of black spray paint. I pull the cap off, and shake the can a couple of times before layering a thick coat over the false message of hope.

Jude and I have been destroying these thrice damned signs at every chance we get. They are a lie. A cruel, evil, deadly lie. A fabrication designed solely to lure unsuspecting survivors to their deaths, or worse. We found that out the hard way.

We went there about a two weeks ago, believing against all pessimism that we could find shelter there. We were welcomed with open arms, given food and a place to sleep.

Jude ended up saving both of us from a near certain death. The next morning we were pulled to the side by Gareth and told that the meat we had eaten the night previously wasn't normal meat.

"What kind of meat is it, then?" I asked.

"It's human meat." Gareth deadpanned.

I couldn't speak. I couldn't move. I just froze. I could feel the vomit rising in my throat, but I swallowed it back.

Jude didn't freeze, and later, I thanked a god I no longer believed in that Jude was blessed with godlike acting skills. It was obvious, of course, that if our reaction was negative, we might be on the menu for the next day's meal. So Jude flawlessly bullshited his way through it.

"Seriously?" Jude said, "That meat was human? It was more tender than I thought it'd be. Have you ever thought about adding ketchup, maybe some cheese?"

He was so convincing, that I didn't actually know he was acting. It took everything I had to keep my facial expression neutral, and not to look at Jude in unabashed horror.

After we were left alone, I dragged Jude back to where we had been sleeping.

"What the HELL, Jude?" I snarled at him.

"Pretty convincing wasn't I?" He said, and his indifferent expression immediately gave way to a look of horror, terror and nausea, "I'm so sorry. I didn't want to scare you, but it was the only way we were gonna get out of that alive."

I exhaled a sigh of relief.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." I said weakly, trying not to gag, "They're cannibals, Jude. Fricken CANNIBALS! We ate somebody last night! Ohmygod..."

"Keep your voice down, Connor!" He hissed at me, "If they hear you talking like this, we're both gonna die!"

"Sorry." I croaked, "What are we gonna do, Jude?"

"We need to leave, obviously." He said weakly, "As soon as we possibly can."

We escaped that night.

We packed up our supplies, and then we snuck into the armory and retrieved our weapons. I took a couple of silencers for my pistol and my rifle. We stuck to the shadows, which were abundant. I was sighted by somebody on the night patrol, who asked me where I was going. I tried to bullshit my way out of it, but I was so terrified I couldn't speak. He started to raise his gun to point it at me, but Jude lunged from the shadows, launching himself onto the man's back. Of course, because Jude and my luck is so great, his screams as Jude plunged his knife into his back alerted the night watchman, who started firing at us. We barely made it over the fence without being turned to Swiss cheese by flying lead.

"YOU CAN RUN, BUT WE WILL FIND YOU!" Gareth's voice screamed from a distance as Jude and I ran for our lives.

As soon as Jude and I were at a safe distance where we could sleep for the night, we both started vomiting. We cried ourselves to sleep in each other's arms that night, horrified at what we had unknowingly done.

They are still looking for us. Just like Gareth had screamed at us. He said that they would track us down, even if it took months. Twice in the last week, Jude and I have encountered. hunting parties from Terminus. The first time, it was a group of six, and they caught us by surprise. Jude and I ended up waging a guerilla war against them for half of the day, using hit and run tactics. Eventually the walkers proved useful, for once, and took out the last two for us when the idiots fired an AK-47 blindly into the forest trying to flush us out.

The second time was four days ago. It was only a group of three, and we didn't even give them a chance to draw their weapons. I took out one of them from the bushes, and Jude decided to forgo his usual strategy of stealth kills and lunged out and beheaded one before impaling the other through the chest before ramming his knife into his brain.

That was the last we saw of them.

I was sitting on a log at our makeshift camp, staring into the forest, waiting for Jude to return.

Jude went out to check one of the other snares I had set up to catch rabbits for food. He had checked one earlier, and returned with what ended up being our lunch.

Today at least, it seems like luck is on our side.

"Don't fucking move, runt."

I spoke too soon.

I clenched my eyes shut and swore softly to myself.

I turned to face the man holding me at gunpoint.

My heart dropped into my stomach when I saw who it was.

It was one of them. From Terminus. The last time I had seen this man was when Jude and I were running for the fences, dodging bullets the whole way.

"Well, look who it is. It's one of the faggots who escaped and put a knife in Robbie's back." The man snarled, "I'll make a slow meal out of your ass. Any last words, little fucker?"

I noticed slow movement coming from behind the man. I smirked when I saw the dim reflection of sunlight bouncing off the blade of a sword.

"Um, yeah I do actually." I said condescendingly, "Mind your surroundings, asshole."

 No sooner had I said the words that a sharp blade flashed through the air and pierced directly through the left side of the man's torso, and Jude clamped his hand over the man's mouth to muffle the horrible scream he tried to emit. Jude wrenched the blade of his saber free, and I resisted a wince at the horrible squelching sound it made as the man fell to the ground like a lead balloon.

"That was me, you idiot." Jude snarled, "And that slime deserved every inch of the blade up his ASS, not his back. Mark my words, your leader Gareth's days are numbered!"

Jude raised the blade and with an almighty lunge, drove it directly through the dying man's eye socket. He placed his boot on the man's head and wrenched the blade free. He pulled a rag out of his pocket and wiped the blood and brain matter from the blade.

"This is the third time in a week and half. I told you they weren't gonna stop hunting us." He said.

"You were right, but what are we gonna do?" I asked him, "You know how many people they have. We'd have to mount a full on invasion of the compound. We're two half starved fifteen year old kids. We'd be dead before we reached the gates. If only we had more people."

A twig snapped behind Jude, and he pivoted on the spot, his sword flashing through the air, just barely managing to intercept the blade of a machete rising from below to attempt a slash to his torso. Jude threw a kick, connecting with the assailant's chest and sending him sprawling.

It was a boy. About our age, maybe a year or so younger. He had soft blue eyes, and short but wild matted brown hair that stuck up in every direction. His eyes widened in surprise and a small amount of relief.

It was at this second I felt myself being grabbed from behind, and felt the coldness of razor sharp steel pressed to my throat.

"DON'T! THEY'RE JUST KIDS!" The boy screamed.

"How do you know they aren't one of them?" A female voice asked.

"There aren't any children left in the group." The boy said frantically, "They're all dead. Let him go."

The stranger released me and I dove away from the woman holding me hostage. I stumbled to stand behind Jude. I drew my pistol and pointed it at the boy, who held his hands up in surrender.

"Who the hell are you?" Jude snarled as he assumed a defensive position, grasping the sword hilt with both hands and holding the blade diagonally in front of him.

"Sorry about that." The woman said, "I thought you were one of them."

"Who?" I asked.

"Terminus." The boy said.

Jude and I froze.

"You've been there?" I asked shakily.

"I haven't, but he has." The dreadlocked woman said stiffly.

"I escaped from there, yeah." The boy replied weakly, "The rest of my family got left behind. They're probably dead."

Jude immediately sheathed his sword and relaxed his posture slightly. I flicked the safety of my M9 back on, and holstered it, releasing a relieved sigh simultaneously with Jude.

"You got names?" The woman asked us.

"I'm Connor. This is Jude." I answered.

"I'm Robert. This is Michonne." The boy answered, "You can call me Bobby, though. Everybody always did."

"Good to meet somebody out here who isn't a total psychopath." Jude commented dryly.

"Where's the rest of your group?" Michonne asked.

"We don't have one." Jude said stiffly, "We've been on our own for a long time. Ever since we got separated from my family."

"How many walkers have you killed?" Michonne asked.

Jude and I shared a look.

"Between the two of us, or singular?" I asked for clarification, "Because either way, it's too high a number to count."

"How many people have you killed?" She asked.

"Eleven." Jude said weakly.

Michonne stiffened and narrowed her eyes.

"Why?" She asked.

"Rapists. Killers. And people from Terminus." Jude explained.

Michonne nodded to Bobby.

"We were in the prison, not far from here." Michonne explained, "It was destroyed by a man called the Governor."

"We saw." I said, hoping they didn't catch Jude's wince at the name 'Governor'.

We had heard stories from a pair of survivors about Woodbury and the megalomaniacal man who ran it. Those stories were the main reason why Jude and I decided to stay the fuck away from there.

"We're tracking down other survivors from our group." Michonne explained, "I've been following these tracks for a while, and I picked up Bobby yesterday. He's a good kid. If who I'm tracking is who I hope it is, and we can track down the rest of our group and stop them from reaching Terminus if that's where they're headed, you two can join us."

"We've survived this long on our own." Jude started to say.

"Please?" Bobby asked, "It'd be nice to have people my own age around again. I've been alone since I lost my best friend right after the outbreak started."

Jude and I shared a look. We waged a silent debate on whether or not to join them.

On the plus side, we wouldn't be alone anymore. We'd have more than just each other to watch our backs. Strength in numbers. Bobby seemed like a pleasant sort of guy, and Michonne was obviously more than capable of dealing with most of the trouble that was thrown at her, and I doubted either of them would turn on us.

On the down side, that meant more people to worry about. More backs to watch, more distractions that could end in disastrous consequences. More mouths to worry about feeding. More people to mourn if they end up dying.

I looked at Bobby, who was looking at us with a small smile.

Jude and I shared another look, before turning back to the pair.

We nodded.

"Good, now that that is settled, let's get out of here." Michonne said, "We don't want to run into any more of these bastards."

"Why not?" Jude said, "They're all just sickened swine to the slaughter."

"You never know how many of them are out there." Bobby retorted softly, "How many of them are lying in wait in the bushes preparing an ambush."

"The biggest group they sent at us was six." I said, "We guerilla warred them until only two were left, and then the idiots got themselves eaten by walkers. We can handle them."

"What we can't do, is what actually needs to be done." Jude continued from where I left off, "A full out assault on the Terminus compound, and the extermination of its inhabitants. We don't have enough people."

"As it stands there are over twenty of them, and four of us." I continued, "Even if we went in, in the middle of the night we wouldn't make it much further past the main courtyard without getting decimated."

"If we catch up to our people." Michonne said contemplatively, "Rick'll know what to do, and how to do it."

"Who's Rick?" Jude asked.

"Rick Grimes. Our leader." Michonne said, "He's got a son, Carl. He's about your guys' age."

"Can't wait to meet them." I said as we walked away from our makeshift camp site.

Jude and I shared another look, communicating nonverbally, and gave each other a small nod.

We both agreed that it would be good not be out in this shit alone anymore.


	3. Terminal Endeavor: Part 2 (Reunion)

Connor's POV:

Jude and I have been in the company of Michonne and Bobby for almost a whole day now, and we are both watching them very carefully to get a read on them. Trying to make sure we hadn't made a big mistake.

Michonne was a tough nut to crack. She was guarded, but you could tell if she let down the walls and let you in, you'd gain an ally you'd never want to lose. She was a master with her katana, reaching a skill level that both impresses and scares Jude and I. When she trusted us more, Jude plans on asking her to teach him some stuff. Every advantage you can get, right? She told us some things about the prison before it fell. How it had a council to run it, grew its own food, and hw she was on the council. How the Governor rolled a tank through the fence. How she stabbed the Governor through the back with her sword.

"Did it feel good?" Jude asked.

"Yes. It did." Michonne replied simply.

Bobby is probably one of the first people who Jude and I have met since the beginning of the apocalypse that we feel like we can come to rely on. He's made the most effort in trying to reach out and connect with us, always asking our opinions on things. Asking us things about how we've survived this long. I can tell though, that this isn't just him being nosy. It's desperate outreaching from a boy who had lost everything he had ever cared about in the world and desperately needed some form of companionship.

Michonne had us take shelter in an abandoned gas station, and told us to wait for her there while she went scouting ahead. In the back, Jude found a couple unopened bottles of water, and handed one to Bobby and me. Bobby slurped the offered drink down without hesitation.

"Thanks." He said graciously, "Haven't had much to drink recently."

"No problem." Jude said, "We haven't either. Food's getting harder and harder to find."

"That's why we went to Terminus." Bobby said, haunted, "My family and I. And it doomed us."

"Where were you guys when this all started?" I asked, "We're originally from San Diego. Way out in California. Jude and I were with his family at Universal Orlando on vacation."

"We lived outside of Atlanta." Bobby said, "When the dead started eating people, we went to the refugee center in the city. The place was overrun the next day, and the military had jets dropping napalm into the streets."

"Yeah, rumor has it they did it in Manhattan too." Jude said.

We'd heard that off a random stranger we'd happened across about a month and a half into being alone. He was a nice guy, gave is a few cans of food and wished us good luck before heading off into the distance."

"We wandered aimlessly for a long time." Bobby continued, "It was my mom, dad, baby brother, and me. Did alright for ourselves, until food got harder to find. When we showed up at Terminus, we hadn't eaten in days. They gave us food and a place to sleep. When they told us the next day that the meat we'd eaten was human, dad blew up and said we were all leaving. Next thing you know, we've got AK-47's pointed at us and we're being herded towards a train car. "

"How did you get out?" I asked, "Of Terminus, I mean?"

"My parents distracted the guards when they opened the boxcar they were keeping us all locked in." Bobby said shakily, "Told me and my little brother Harry to run for it. Harry... he didn't m-make it t-to the f-fence. I watched... as my s-s-six year old b-b-baby brother, my best friend in the whole world, took three bullets to the back and one to the head from an AK-47, while I could do nothing to save him."

His voice shook as he spoke, and by the end of his short tale, he was about three seconds away from a total breakdown.

"I'm so sorry man." Jude said consolingly, "I wish you didn't have to live that. One of my moms, Stef, died too. She sacrificed herself to the walkers to give me, Connor, my other mom Lena, and my siblings time to escape. I don't even know if the rest of my family is still alive or not. Connor doesn't know if his parents are alive either."

"I was on the phone with my dad when the phone networks failed." I revealed, "He told me that San Diego was the equivalent of a warzone, and to be safe."

"How did you meet up with Michonne?" Jude asked.

"I ran into her. She was wandering around with two walkers tied to her with ropes." Bobby explained, "Apparently that acts as camouflage. So does caking walker guts onto your clothes. Anyway, she was in some kind of weird state, and me nearly getting bitten by a walker snapped her out of it. She saved my ass."

The door to the gas station opened and Michonne stepped back inside and motioned for us to follow her.

"I tracked them to a neighborhood not far from here." She said as we followed her.

We only walked for about twenty minutes before we happened upon the aforementioned neighborhood. We went up to the first house we saw, and we walked up on the porch and peaked in the window.

On the couch inside the house, was a man. He looked like he'd just went a couple of rounds with a Sherman Tank, and lost horribly. He was bruised, bloody, and looked to be unconscious.

"Is that him?" Bobby asked.

Michonne nodded rapidly, tears rising to her eyes in relief.

"Yeah, that's him." She whispered, "He's alive. But... where is...?"

Suddenly, in the distance, down the road from the house, we heard three gunshots and a panicked shout accompanied by the infernal growling of walkers. Michonne's eyes widened.

"Carl." She whispered, "He's in trouble."

She hadn't even finished the sentence before Jude, Bobby and I had leapt from the porch and were heading toward where the sound had originated.

"Stay with Rick! We'll get Carl."

Michonne nodded and headed around the back of the house to go in the back door.

We ran around the corner, and were met with the sight of a boy, about our age, wearing a sheriff's deputy hat, jeans and a really dirty button up blue shirt, trying to fight off three walkers, one behind him and two in front of him, who were getting way too close for comfort.

Jude reacted first, drawing his saber and lunging forward to bisect the head of one of the walkers in front of the boy. I pulled my pistol and fired a 9mm round into the skull of the other, while Bobby looped around and slammed the machete into the skull of the third.

Our sudden appearance startled the boy, who immediately went for his pistol and pointed it at Jude. The next second, Bobby and I had our weapons directed at him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." I growled.

"Give me a reason not to." He growled back.

"Are you Carl?" Bobby asked.

"Who are you people?" He asked, "How do you know my name?"

"We're friends." Jude said, "We're not gonna hurt you."

"Prove it." He said.

I looked into his eyes. The icy blue that stared back was the gaze of a killer. I knew that if we even twitched in the wrong fashion, this kid was going to try to blow all three of our heads off. Or at least maim us severely. The gaze of a boy who had lost so much, but gained so little. He was broken.

I holstered my gun, and Jude and Bobby sheathed their blades, but Carl did not lower his gun.

"I'll ask you again." Carl said, "How do you know my name?"

"We came here looking for you with a woman named Michonne." I revealed, "She's back at the house with your dad."

"You're lying." Carl hissed.

"Your dad is lying, severely injured and passed out on a couch in the house up the street, being tended to by what amounts to a African American female samurai with dreadlocks." Bobby deadpanned, "Do you believe us now?"

Carl's eyes widened, and his arm snapped to his side at light speed, his gun plunging into its holster as he bolted back to the house. We followed close behind. We all circled the house to the back door, and Carl charged into the house. No sooner than he had laid eyes on Michonne than he let out a strangled sob and lunged forth to wrap her in a tearful embrace.

"Y-you're o-okay." He whimpered.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I'm okay." She consoled the crying boy.

It took Carl ten whole minutes before he was calm enough to release Michonne. Until then, he clung to her in fear that she would evaporate into thin air if he released her. When he finally did, he turned to the three of us. He studied us for a minute, his body tense, before he relaxed.

"Um. Sorry about pointing the gun at you back there." He said, "It's been a long couple of days."

"We've heard, and it's fine. Can't be too careful these days." Jude said, "Quite frankly, if you hadn't held us at gunpoint, I'd consider you a fool."

"Still..." Carl said, "Anyway, you already know my name, what are yours?"

"Robert Jackson. Bobby is preferred." Bobby said.

"Jude Adams Foster." Jude said.

"Connor Stevens." I introduced myself.

"How'd you guys end up with Michonne?" Carl asked.

"She saved me from some walkers while she wandered around in the woods." Bobby answered.

"They attacked us. Thought we were hostile." Jude said, "Needless to say, we aren't hostile, so here we are."

"Guys."

We all turned towards Michonne.

"There's barely any food in here." She said. She opened her mouth to continue, but Carl cut her off.

"We'll handle that." He said, "You can take care of dad better than I can."

"Carl..." Michonne said, trying to argue.

"We'll be with him." I interjected, "We'll keep him safe. Promise."

She looked at us for a second, clearly debating it in her head before nodding reluctantly.

"Hey, Carl? What kind of gun do you use?" I asked suddenly as we stepped out onto the porch.

"9mm Berretta." He asked.

"You out of ammo?" I asked.

"Yeah, why?"

I pulled out a spare magazine of ammo from my back pocket.

"Here." I said, and handed it to Carl.

"Thanks." He said, looking confused by my charitable action.

"Don't mention it." I said kindly, "I've got a backpack full of spares."

We headed to the nearest house. We tried the front door, and it was locked.

"Dammit. We'll have to break it down or go in a window." I said.

Carl threw himself at the door, accomplishing absolutely nothing except for knocking him backwards onto the porch, winding him in the process.

"You alright?" Jude asked, slightly amused.

Carl glared at the tone. Bobby held out a hand to pull Carl to his feet, which Carl accepted thankfully.

Bobby walked up to the door, and studied the lock.

From his pocket, he pulled a couple of bobby pins, and a screw driver.

"Give me five minutes, make sure nothing sneaks up on us." He said as he set about picking the lock with practiced precision.

Sure enough, five minutes later the lock clicked and he threw the door open lightly. We all stepped inside. Jude grabbed a glass ornament from the shelf right next to the door and threw it at the wall as hard as he could. With a growl, three walkers lumbered forth from the depths of the house. Bobby and Carl moved to draw their weapons, but Jude waved them off.

"I got this." Jude said.

Jude moved forward and threw a kick to the chest of the lead walker, knocking it to the ground. He pivoted three hundred sixty degrees on the balls of his feet, using the motion of his spin to put more force and momentum into the swing of his sword. The steel blade sliced clean through the skull of the walker. He lifted the sword above his head and chopped it down into the head of the third one, which dropped like a lead balloon like it's comrade. Jude looked down at the final walker, and with a snarl, he threw himself into the air, bringing both of his feet stomping down on the final walker's head, which gave way with an extremely unpleasant squelching sound.

The three walkers dispatched, Jude flicked the blood off of his saber and turned to us.

Bobby looked impressed, while Carl looked as if he was about to die of shock.

"Wow. You've got to teach me some of that." Bobby commented appreciatively.

"Where did you learn to do stuff like that?" Carl croaked.

"Practice. Out there, you either learn or you die, so I learned pretty fast. More skill came with time." Jude answered.

"Yeah, but those was some fricken Jedi-esque moves." Carl returned.

Jude snorted.

"Who knew? All my life I wanted to be a Jedi, and all that had to happen was a zombie apocalypse." Jude chortled, the sarcasm thick in his voice.

I snorted.

"Guys, there'll be time for joking later, but right now, we need to find supplies." I said, "I'll check the kitchen. Jude can check the basement. Carl, you and Bobby can check upstairs."

Bobby and Carl shared a look. Bobby offered Carl a small smile, which Carl hesitantly returned. Everybody nodded and set off on their individual searches.

I went into the kitchen, and started opening every cupboard and drawer I could find. Unfortunately, all of the overhead cupboards were empty and all I found was an unopened box af cereal that was most likely stale.

"Dammit." I said, moving to open the door to the large walk in pantry.

No sooner than I had opened it than the walker that had been hiding inside lunged at me.

"GAH!" I yelped as it took me to the ground.

I struggled against the dead weight on top of me, fighting desperately to keep the snapping jaws away from my face and shoulders. Unfortunately, having not eaten in days and barely drinking any water, I wasn't as strong as I usual was. The walkers snapping maw inched closer and closer no matter how hard I tried to fight it off.

I saw my entire life flash before my eyes. My childhood with my parents. My friends back home. Meeting Jude. Falling in love with Jude. Fighting my dad for the sake of our relationship...

My panicked thoughts were interrupted by a booted foot flying out of nowhere, connecting with the side of the walker's head, knocking it off of me. I clambered to my feet and as far away from the walker as possible, and hid behind my rescuer, shaking. He moved forward quickly as the walker got back to its feet and drove his knife into its skull.

The danger eliminated, Jude turned to me and wrapped me in a hug.

"You have to be more careful, Connor." He whimpered into my shoulder.

"I'm sorry. It wasn't making any noise, I didn't hear it." I said softly.

"Next time, bang on the door first." He recommended shakily before pulling away, "You scared the shit out of me."

"You saved me, though." I reminded him, "I'm alright."

We were interrupted by the reemergence of Carl and Bobby.

"What happened?" Carl asked.

"Walker in the walk in cupboard." I answered, "Caught me by surprise."

"You bit?" Carl asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, just a bit shaken." I responded softly, "That hasn't happened in a while."

"Did you guys find anything?" Jude asked them.

"We found some meds and a first aid kit in a cabinet in the upstairs bathroom." Bobby answered, "Figure they might be useful for helping his dad. You guys find anything?"

"A box of cereal. Even the walk in is empty." I answered.

"There's an old freezer in the basement." Jude said, "But everything in it is rotted and nasty."

We all sighed in disappointment.

"Well, there are plenty of other houses to choose from." I stated.

With our small amount of recovered supplies, we left the house and pushed on toward another.


	4. Terminal Endeavor: Part 3 (Immunity, Bonding, and Decleration of War.)

We all left the house, and we headed to the house next door. I noticed briefly that Bobby was sticking close to Carl's side, so I pulled him aside before we went inside.

"He talk to you about anything while you were scavenging?" I asked quietly so Carl wouldn't overhear us.

"He's a good listener." Bobby said, equally quiet, "While we were looking in the first house, I told him about losing my little brother. He gave me a hug, and told me he knows what it's like to lose a younger sibling. Apparently his infant sister was killed by walkers during the attack on the prison."

"That's horrible." I said softly, looking at Carl, walking a few steps ahead.

"Apparently there were about fifty people living at the prison." Bobby continued, "Can you imagine what it would be like to lose that many people at once?"

"I don't think I could bear it." I admitted.

"He's stronger than most. Reminds me of somebody." Bobby said.

"Who?" I asked.

"He reminds me of my best friend." Bobby said, "Same demeanor. Same mask, but underneath it is the same vulnerability and need for companionship."

"Well, we're here now. And we're not going anywhere, so..." I said, giving a small shrug.

"I know... but there's something, different about him." Bobby said, trailing off.

"Like what?" I asked suspiciously.

"I'll let you know when I find that out." Bobby said, looking ahead at Carl.

I don't know if it's my overactive imagination or not, but it appeared as if there was a slight tinge of pink painting Bobby's cheeks.

We walked up onto the porch of the house and Jude tried the door. We were both pleased to find it unlocked, so we walked inside and Jude took the lead.

"Okay, this time we're sticking together. No splitting up again, that didn't work so well last time." He said.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Bobby move to stand by Carl again.

"Okay, something is going on." I thought to myself, "It's almost as if... oh that would explain a lot. The blushing when he was talking about him earlier, and always standing by him. Bobby has a crush on him. I'll have to talk to Jude about this later, but I'll just keep an eye on it for now."

We ventured into the kitchen, and immediately set about looking for food.

"Oh, yes!" Carl laughed moments later.

We turned to see him, smiling giddily, with a large container of pudding clutched in his hands.

I couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Nice." Bobby said with a smile.

Carl opened a drawer and withdrew four spoons.

"Want some?" He asked.

Bobby nodded eagerly and moved forward. He reached out to take the spoon, and in the process, his hand brushed against Carl's. He froze for a moment, and the two made eye contact. Bobby turned pink, and Carl looked away for a moment before handing Jude and me our spoons.

Jude looked at me, an eyebrow raised in inquisition. I leaned over to whisper into his ear.

"I think Bobby has a crush on him." I whispered to him.

"Wouldn't surprise me." He responded.

Carl searched the cabinets for a can opener and eventually found one. He opened the can, and we all helped ourselves to the chocolate confection within.

"Oh my god, I forgot how good this stuff was." Bobby moaned through a mouthful.

"Tell me about it." Carl said in the same tone.

"How big is this can?" Jude asked.

"112 oz." I responded.

"We're going to eat it all, aren't we?" Jude asked.

"Well, of course." Carl said, pointing out the obvious.

And so we did.

And none of us could bring ourselves to regret it, or even care in the slightest.

I couldn't help but feel a shiver of dread. Everything has an equal and opposite reaction in this world. Something good was always followed by something twenty times worse.

Today was no different, apparently.

We walked up the stairs to the second floor of the house, with Bobby leading the way. No sooner had Bobby set foot on the second floor did things go horribly wrong.

A walker lunged from the room, taking Bobby by surprise. He tried to dodge out of the way in time, but failed, and the walker grabbed a hold of him. The next thing Bobby knew he was screaming in agonizing pain as the walker sunk it's teeth into his arm.

"SHIT!" Carl exclaimed in horror, "BOBBY, NO!"

Bobby gritted his teeth through his pain, and brought his machete up and slammed the blade into the head of the walker. The jaw of the monster released his arm and he stumbled back into the wall and slid to the floor. Jude immediately started crying and turned and flung his arms around me.

"SHIT, SHIT, SHIT!" Carl panicked, dropping to his knees in front of Bobby.

_"NO! This can't be happening!" Carl thought frantically to himself, "He can't die, I can't lose somebody else!"_

"Carl, calm down." Bobby said calmly, "Get the gauze and disinfectant from my bag."

Carl was in tears as he did as he was told. He poured disinfectant into the wound, causing Bobby to bite his tongue to contain the resultant groan of pain. Carl shakily wrapped the wound with gauze. Bobby reached out and poked him to get his attention back to his face.

"Stop crying, dude." Bobby said, teeth clenched at the pain, "It's alright. I'll be fine."

"What do you mean it's alright?" I stammered incredulously, "YOU'VE BEEN BITTEN, BOBBY!"

"Well aware of that, Connor." Bobby ground out.

"Then how can you say it's alright?!" Carl exclaimed, slightly frantic.

If I had been in a state of mind at the time to notice, I would have questioned why Carl was so upset about a person he'd only just met two hours ago. I would have wondered how it was possible that Carl had become so attached to Bobby in such a short amount of time.

"Carl, pull my right pant leg up, and check my ankle." Bobby said sternly.

Carl looked confused, but did as he was told. As soon as he saw the bare skin of Bobby's ankle, he gasped. His gaze rose to stare incredulously into Bobby's eyes.

"What?" Carl muttered in awe, a small smile stretching over his face.

"That's what I said when it happened." Bobby said, wincing at the pain.

"What? What is it?" I asked, Jude and I scrambling over to see what Carl was smiling about at a time like this.

We soon saw.

What we saw defied everything that we knew about the walkers and the spread of the infection.

On Bobby's ankle was another walker bite, but it looked peculiar. It was definitely not fresh, or even remotely recent for that matter. In fact it looked to be months old. It was almost completely healed over, but the skin was still red, and in a short amount of time, we could all tell that nothing of the bite would remain except for a faint scar.

Somehow, Bobby had survived a walker bite. He had done the impossible.

We all looked up at his face, and staring into our new friend's face, for the first time in a long time I felt hope. I laughed.

"I'm immune." Bobby said, "I don't know how. I don't know why. But I am immune."

Carl started crying.

"S-so, you'll be o-okay then?" He asked, his voice breaking, "I've already lost most of my family. I just got you three, and I don't think I could take losing any of you already."

Bobby offered him a small smile.

"Yeah, Carl. I'll be fine." Bobby assured.

Carl lunged forward and wrapped him in a tight hug, crying into his shoulder.

"How did you get bit the first time?" Jude asked, drying his eyes.

"I was separated from my family at the time." Bobby explained patting Carl on the back in comfort, " I was walking through the woods, with my machete at the ready. I remember sitting down to rest for a minute. I dozed off, and as a result, I never even heard the walker coming. It came out of nowhere."

Bobby winced at the memory.

"I stabbed it in the face, but it was too late already. It bit me." Bobby said, "I could feel my heart drop into my stomach, and I immediately got scared and ran for it. I came out in a cal de sac. I broke into a house, barricaded myself in an upstairs bedroom, and just curled up on the floor and waited to die. I could feel it coming. I could feel the fever setting in, so I took my shirt off to try to feel a bit cooler. I cried myself to sleep, fully expecting never to see the light of day again."

Carl had stopped crying at this point and was listening.

"Well, imagine my surprise when I wake up the next day." Bobby said, "I woke up with no fever, feeling completely rested and stumbled into the bathroom to see the blood was clotting in the wound and it was starting to heal. I put my shirt back on and sat down, and started to think, to plan. I had been hiding there for a week when I heard banging coming from downstairs, so I squeeze through a small gap in the barricade and go to check. The first thing I hear is my mother and baby brother screaming my name and giving me a crushing hug. Over the years, I discovered that the bite had a useful side effect."

"What side effect?" Carl asked, sniffling slightly.

"I can go longer without food and water than others can." Bobby said, "I just wish it made me invisible to them. It kind of sucks."

"You can survive a walker bite without having the limb removed." I deadpanned, "I think that makes you just about the luckiest son of a bitch on the planet."

"Yeah, maybe." Bobby agreed.

"No, not maybe. Definitely." Carl said, "Can you stand?"

"Yeah, give me a hand?" Bobby asked.

Carl reached out a hand and grabbed a hold of Bobby's uninjured arm and pulled him to his feet.

"Let's get you back to the house." I suggested, "How are we gonna explain this to Michonne?"

"Just tell her the truth." Bobby said, "She might think we're crazy, but we do have proof."

"If you say so." Carl said.

We trudged from the house and headed back towards our sanctuary. Jude and I both noticed that Carl kept sneaking worried glances at Bobby, who would wince in pain every few seconds. As we approached the house, we noticed that Michonne was sitting in a chair on the porch. We approached her, and she took immediate notice of Bobby's bloody arm.

"What the hell happened?" She asked.

"Bobby was bitten in the second house." Jude said quietly.

Michonne's eyes went wide and she leapt to her feet and moved to draw her sword.

"Don't bother." Bobby said, waving her off.

"What?" She exclaimed, "If we remove the limb, you might still have a chance!"

"I'll be fine. It's not the first bite I've had. See?" Bobby said, and he raised the leg of his pants to display the healing bite mark on his ankle.

Michonne stared at the healing wound in abject shock. She stumbled backward into the wall of the house, using it to stay standing.

"That... that's not possible." She whispered in awe, "You're immune?"

"Yeah, came as a surprise to me too."

"So, Bobby is immune." Michonne said again, still hardly daring to believe it, "And I thought things couldn't get any weirder. Let's go inside."

We went inside and for the rest of the day, we rested. Bobby, Carl, Jude and I went upstairs and sat in the bedroom, which we guessed had once belonged to a teenager.

"I miss television." Bobby said, pointing at the television.

"I miss listening to music." Jude said, "I still carry around my old I-Pod. I keep it turned off. Only turn it on once every month. Last time I turned it on, it had 75% battery left. I still have the charger chord and plug in too."

"Why?" Bobby asked.

"You never know." Jude responded, "What if we find some place, a community, that has its own power grid. I could charge it."

Bobby nodded, accepting Jude's reasoning.

"Don't give that thing up." Carl said, "Things like music need to be preserved. There aren't enough good things left in the world."

"You can say that again." Bobby said quietly.

"What else do you guys miss?" Carl asked.

"I miss my dad." I said, "No matter how much of a pain in the ass he was."

"I miss my family." Jude said sadly, "My mom and momma, Stef and Lena. My brothers, Brandon and Jesus. My sisters, Callie and Mariana."

"They dead?" Carl asked softly.

"Stef is. She sacrificed herself to save us all." Jude said, a tear leaking from his eye.

I leaned over and gave him a soft kiss to the side of the head.

"She's in a better place, beloved." I said to him.

"I know, it still hurts though." He said sadly.

We noticed that Carl was looking at us with his eyes wide.

"What?" I asked him.

"You two are... together?" He asked, confused.

"I thought that was obvious?" Jude asked.

"No, I just assumed you were brothers or close friends or something."

"We've been boyfriends since we were thirteen." Jude said, "We had to fight like hell just to get together in the first place. His dad was dead set against it, and even after he caved and allowed it, he still wasn't okay with it. Connor was going to move to L.A to live with his mom just to get away from him. The only reason he was with me and my family in Florida when all this started was because he wanted to spend as much time with me as possible before he moved."

"Wow, that sucks." Carl said.

"You don't have a problem with it, do you?" I asked.

"No. I was raised better than that." Carl said, "My parents taught me that any form of love is sacred. Even if it's between two men or two woman. Besides... uh, I'm not the straightest tool in the shed either."

The final was admitted quietly, and with a hint of a blush.

"Really?" Bobby asked.

I had to resist laughing at his slightly hopeful tone.

"Yeah, my friend Patrick helped me figure it out back at... back at the prison." Carl explained, "He was a few years older than me. When I explained it to him, the way I felt, he called it pansexual. I guess it means that gender isn't a factor in terms of attraction? I see personality, and that's what interests me. The people beneath the surface."

"Good for you man?" I said, "Does anybody else know?"

"Michonne does, and C-Carol did." Carl admitted, "But other than her, nobody else does."

"Well, your secrets safe with us until you're ready for anybody else to know." Jude said with a small smile.

"Thanks guys." Carl said.

"Hey, think nothing of it. You're our friend now." I said, "Nowadays, that's as good as family."

Carl smiled at us and nodded.

We talked until just after night had fallen, when Carl stood from where he sat.

"I'm gonna go check on Dad." He said, and exited the room.

"You have a crush on him, don't you?" Jude asked Bobby bluntly, referring to Carl.

Bobby turned a deep shade of red.

"Is that a bad thing?" He asked.

"No, just making sure." Jude teased.

We carried on our playful teasing, and eventually Bobby started teasing us back. Our playful banter ceased when we heard a thump from downstairs. We all leapt from the bed and hurried down the stairs.

We entered the living room to see Carl, sitting on the floor sobbing, with his father's head in his lap. Lying next to Carl on the floor was a Colt Python revolver.

"S-stay I-inside." Rick mumbled hoarsely, "S-stay s-s-safe."

Carl continued to sob.

"I-I'm s-scared." He whimpered.

Bobby and Michonne moved forward slowly.

"Carl? You want me to get him back on the couch?" Michonne asked gently.

Carl nodded shakily, still crying. Michonne leaned down and dragged Rick back onto the couch as gently as she could. Bobby kneeled down in front of Carl. He hesitated for a second before reaching out and putting a comforting hand on Carl's shoulder. Carl looked into Bobby's eyes.

"It'll be okay, Carl." Bobby said softly, "He's gonna be alright."

Carl lunged forward and wrapped his arms around Bobby in a tight embrace, and he recommenced his sobbing into Bobby's shoulder. Bobby wrapped his arms around Carl, and patted his back comfortingly as the boy continued to sob. Carl rested his head on Bobby's shoulder. Bobby hesitated for a few more seconds, before he placed a soft kiss to the side of Carl's head. Carl didn't flinch away, he didn't look at him in shock. He just continued to cling to him, sobbing as hard as it was possible for a person to sob.

"C'mon, let's get you upstairs, you need to rest." Bobby urged softly, helping Carl to his feet.

He led Carl up the stairs slowly, and the whole time Carl never let go of him. As they disappeared upstairs, Jude and I turned to Michonne.

"He'll be okay right?" I asked, pointing at Rick's once again unconscious form.

"He should be." Michonne said, "He just needs rest, and to let his injuries heal."

We headed back upstairs, and when we entered the room we were met by the sight of Carl curled up on the bed, with Bobby sitting at his side rubbing his back comfortingly. He moved to stand to give him some space, but Carl reached out for him.

"D-don't go. P-please?" He whimpered.

Bobby only hesitated for an instant. He climbed back onto the bed and laid down. Carl curled up into him, still sobbing softly.

"It'll be okay, buddy." Bobby whispered soothingly.

Jude and I shared a look, and we both backed out of the room slowly and headed for the master bedroom.

Those two needed their privacy.

When we woke up from our surprisingly restful sleep five hours later, we headed down to the kitchen.

Michonne was standing at the window, and Carl and Bobby were sitting at the table. They were sitting very close together, and Bobby was looking at him worriedly.

"You okay, Carl?" I asked.

'Didn't get much good sleep." He answered, "Spent most of the night crying. Bobby helped a lot."

"How long you been up?" Jude asked.

"Couple hours, just been talking." Bobby said, "Getting to know each other better. We actually have a lot in common."

It was at this point that a new voice interrupted the conversation. A gruff voice, that sounded more like a growl, and had a thick southern accent.

"Who the hell are you people?"

We all whipped around to stare into the barrel of a Colt Python, held by beaten, bloody, scared, but fully conscious, scary, and incredibly suspicious Rick Grimes.

"Rick, don't." Michonne said, making her presence known, stepping forward into view.

Rick stumbled in shock at her voice and whipped around to face her, his revolver dropping to his side. His eyes opened wide in shock at the site of her, and he was shaking slightly.

"Michonne?" He asked hopefully.

She nodded.

"Oh thank god you're okay." He said, stumbling forward and wrapping her in a hug.

After a few moments, he released her and turned back to us. I noticed that Carl moved to stand slightly in front of Bobby, as if to protect him from his father. It wasn't necessary, however. Rick was no longer looking at us with suspicion, and he seemed more relaxed.

"Who are the kids?" Rick asked Michonne.

"The two standing hand in hand are Jude and Connor." She said, pointing to us as she listed our names, "The one standing next to Carl is Bobby. He's uh... probably the most important person we've ever met."

"And how's that?"

"Show him." Carl said to Bobby.

Bobby stepped forward, and with a sigh, he lifted his pant leg and exposed the bite on his ankle. Rick's eyes widened and he stumbled back a step from the shock.

"This bite is months old." Bobby said, "I'm immune."

"Dear god." Rick said, "But that's..."

"Impossible?" Jude interjected, "That's what we thought too."

"Besides that, why are they here?" Rick asked again.

"They saved my life dad." Carl said softly.

Rick looked at Carl, the look on his face alone demanding an explanation.

"I went out to scavenge for food and to lure a couple of walkers away from the house." Carl explained, "They caught me off guard, and these three jumped in and took care of it for me. Connor even gave me a couple of magazines full of ammo for my gun. Helped my find some food and medicine to help you when you woke up."

Rick stared at us calculatingly.

"I've already asked them the questions, Rick." Michonne added, "They passed. They've proved themselves."

Rick continued to stare at us for a moment before he nodded.

"Okay. Well, welcome to the group I guess... or what's left of it." Rick said, "Speaking of which, did anybody else make it out?"

"The bus made it away. Glenn and Maggie were on it." Michonne said, "I saw that much. Daryl probably got out on his bike."

"Well that's good then, isn't it?" Carl asked, "We might be able to find them."

"We'll need them." Jude said, "Make sure they don't reach Terminus."

"What's Terminus?" Rick asked.

"It used to be a train yard. All the tracks meet there." I explained, "Used to be a sanctuary. Something happened, and now it's a death trap."

"What happened?" Rick asked.

"They were raided, I think." Jude said, "It changed them. Warped them. Now... their monsters."

"What kind of monsters?" Rick asked.

"Cannibals." Bobby said, "If you don't join them, they kill you and eat you."

Rick looked horrified and extremely pissed off.

"What do you plan to do?" He asked.

"Invade the place and butcher the bastards." Bobby said, "I escaped, and while I did, they killed my baby brother when he tried to escape with me. He was six years old. As I went over the fence, they screamed at me that his body would be their dinner that night. I wandered around until I ran into Michonne."

"Connor and I barely made it out of there alive." Jude said, "I had to bluff the leader into believing we were joining them, and then we tried to sneak out in the middle of the night. We got caught and made a run for it. They sent hunting parties after us. None of them are still alive."

"How many of them are there?" Rick asked.

"Upwards of twenty." I answered.

"Weapons?" Rick asked.

"Rifles, AK-47's, pistols, shotguns." I answered, "Make no mistake, if we do invade the place, it'll be a war."

"They'll lose." Rick growled.

"So you'll help us?" Jude asked.

"After all they've done? They don't get to live." Rick said, "They eat people. They kill and eat children. Their days are numbered."

Jude and I shared a look and nodded.

Indeed, their days were numbered. I can't wait to see the look on Gareth's face when we storm the place guns blazing. There is still one thing I think needs to be settled though.

Who gets to kill him?

After all, us kids have the most grievance with them.

Bobby, however, probably has the most grievance though. They killed his little brother, and supposedly ate the body. They probably killed his entire family.

Should it be Jude, me or Bobby? Only time will tell.

 


	5. Terminal Endeavor: Part 4 (New Couple, Trauma and Jude's Dark Side)

Bobby's POV:

The day went as normal as it possibly could, with Rick asking us questions about how we'd survived.

"Where were you all when this all started?" Rick asked us, "I was in a hospital in a coma from a gunshot wound."

"I was in Atlanta with my family." I said, not saying anything more.

"Jude and I were in Orlando when it all started." Connor recalled, "I was on vacation with Jude and his family. I was trying to spend as much time with my boyfriend as I could before I moved to live with my mom in Los Angeles to escape my Dad and his homophobia."

"So, you and Jude are a couple." Rick said.

"Yes, sir. We are, is that a problem?" Jude answered.

"Nah, it ain't a problem." Rick said, "I'm sorry about your father."

"Thank you." Connor said, "Anyway, we got out of Orlando before the place got overrun. We lost one of Jude's moms, Stef. She sacrificed herself to give us all time to escape. We were separated from his siblings. The last we saw of them, Brandon was yelling for us to run, and Jesus was trying to fight off a bunch of walkers while Lena and his sisters were frantic."

"Wait a minute." Carl suddenly interjected, "Did you say Brandon and Jesus?

"Yeah, why?" Jude answered.

"Did you have two sisters as well?" Michonne asked cautiously.

"Yeah, Mariana and Callie. Why?" Jude asked nervously.

Carl, Rick and Michonne shared a shocked look before staring at Connor and Jude in amazement.

"If only you'd arrived at the prison two days earlier." Carl commented.

"What do you mean?" Jude asked with wide eyes.

"They were there." Rick revealed, "At the prison. We found them on a supply run. Saved them from a group of bandits. Your other mom, Lena, wasn't with them when we found them."

Jude was speechless.

"They're alive?" He whimpered hopefully, "Thank god! Did they make it out of the prison?"

"I saw Jesus escaping with Daryl and Beth." Michonne said, "Callie and Mariana were supposed to get out on the bus with Maggie and Glenn. That was in the evacuation plan."

"Last I saw of Brandon, he was with Tyreese." Rick said, "I don't know if he got out…"

"But, it's possible?" Jude asked, hopeful tears starting to fall.

"Yeah, it's possible."

Jude turned and collapsed against Connor in relief, and they hugged each other tightly.

"We'll find 'em, beloved." Connor promised, "We'll find them."

The conversation lulled and eventually we all disappeared to different parts of the house, with Jude and Connor claiming a room for themselves. They had shut and locked the door, so I'm pretty sure I know what they are doing in there. Carl and I claimed the other bedroom, and the two of us sat in silence, enjoying each other's company until we fell asleep.

They next morning, I awoke to find Carl already awake and dressed.

"Finally awake?" He joked.

I threw a pillow at him.

Again, we sat there just enjoying each other's company. I got off the bed and got changed into slightly cleaner cloths before sitting back down next to Carl.

"Hey, Bobby?" Carl asked quietly.

"Yeah? What is it?" I asked him.

"I just… wanted to thank you. For comforting me yesterday." Carl said softly, scooting a bit closer to me, "I'm not used to having people my own age care about me."

"Don't mention it." I said with a small smile, "You'd do the same for me."

"I… I would, you know?" He said softly, "I'm here for you if you ever need anything. I care about you. And Jude and Connor."

I smiled at him and motioned for him to come closer. He did, and I pulled him into a gentle hug. He laid his head against my shoulder and sighed.

"I care about you too, Carl." I confessed softly, "Maybe a bit too much. I don't know how I can care so much when I've only known you for a few days."

"Same here." Carl said, pulling out of the hug to stare at my face.

I don't know what possessed me to do it, but I had no regrets as I leaned in and gently placed my lips against his.

After a moment, he got over his shock and kissed back. I brought my hand up to hold the back of his neck gently.

After a second, we pulled apart and just looked at each other. He brought his hand up to hold my cheek and he smiled. I returned his smile with a soft one of my own, and pulled him back into a hug.

"CARL! BOBBY! WE'RE GOING ON A RUN! COME ON!"

Michonne's voice brought us back to reality, and we separated.

"What does this mean?" Carl asked.

"What do you want it to mean?" I asked him.

"That we're… together." Carl said softly.

I smiled at him widely.

"Then that's what it means."

We smile at each other giddily and proceeded downstairs. To join Michonne, Connor and Jude.

We barely found anything on our run, and on our way back to the house, we were intercepted by Rick, who was instructing us all to turn around and run.

He didn't need to tell us twice

We spent the entire day walking, taking down Terminus signs as we found them. We found a sign, instructing somebody called Glenn to go to Terminus, and Rick, Michonne and Carl's hearts dropped.

"Glenn and Maggie. Members of our group." Rick answered our questioning looks, "Looks like it's gonna be a rescue mission as well as an invasion."

We kept walking and eventually we stopped for the night. Jude and I volunteered to set up snares and as we walked through the woods, he turned to me.

"So, you and Carl, huh?" He asked.

I blushed.

"Yeah. We're together. We kissed earlier." I revealed happily.

Jude smiled and clapped me on the back in congratulations.

"Good for you, buddy."

It was at that moment, that Jude and I both stopped and the happy mood was shattered irreparably.

We both heard it at the same time. Sounds of a struggle, of screams for help.

It was Connor, and he was screaming.

"Connor." Jude choked out and bolted back towards the camp, me following right behind him.

When we came back out of the woods, we both froze.

Quite a few people were holding our group hostage. Two men had Carl and Connor on the ground, holding them down. Not even a second later, the man holding Connor started to undue his belt and started trying to yank Connor's pants down.

"NOOO!" Jude screams in rage, and bolts forth while drawing his saber.

Just as the man gets Connor's pants down, Jude gets close enough and attacks. He swung the sword with all his might, slicing through the man's neck and vertebrae. His head went flying and rolled across the pavement. I noticed another man leap forward and grab Connor, dragging him away from the impending melee.

"NO! PLEASE NO! PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!" Connor was screaming.

The man leaned down and put his mouth next to Connor's ear. I couldn't see his face, because he had a bandana around his mouth and the hood of his jacket was pulled up, but I did hear him speak.

"Connor, buddy, you need to calm down. It's me." The man said, "I'm not gonna hurt you. Let's get your pants pulled back up."

Connor's eyes widened and he grabbed and clung to the unknown man, sobbing and hyperventilating as the man tried to comfort him and helped him pull his pants back up. Jude stood there and stared at Connor.

Meanwhile, as I butchered the man who was trying to hurt Carl with a chop of my machete to the head, Michonne and Rick made their move and broke free. I kneeled next to Carl.

"You okay?"

He shook his head.

"K-Kill them all." He begged.

Who was I to deny him that?

Michonne killed one of the men with their own gun, while Rick and another man, who I recognized as fitting Carl's description of Daryl, subdued the leader. Daryl and I nodded at each other and were about to set to work on the other members of the attacking group who stood there in shock.

I analyzed them quickly. One had a crowbar, one had a tire iron, another had a baseball bat, and another two were unarmed. Daryl and I moved to attack, but we didn't get very far because it was at that moment that Jude went absolutely berserk.

He stared at Connor, screaming in emotional distress, and it was like a switch had been flicked.

His eyes narrowed, and his moth curled into a snarl. With a loud scream of rage he turned and ran full tilt towards the man with a crowbar. He threw himself forward foot first, placing a kick to the man's chest the destabilized him and sent him to the ground. Jude planted the tip of his sword through the man's eye socket and wrenched it free before going at the man with the tire iron. The man managed to bring the tire iron up in time to block the first and second blows from Jude's sword, but this only seemed to enrage Jude more. With one almighty swing, he landed a blow on the tire iron so hard that it sent it flying from the man's hand. Jude brought the sword down and swung it up, slicing right through the middle of the man's face, sending him to the ground with a scream. Jude stood over him and shoved the tip of the sword right through the man's throat, before leaving him to bleed to death as blood gushed from his slit throat.

I knew Jude had a dark side. Hell, we all did. Connor had told us of a couple of instances where Jude lost it, and the stories seemed unbelievable. But seeing it was another thing completely. Jude was normally, from what I'd seen, a kind, caring and selfless boy. The person I was seeing right now, a boy who was brutally attacking and killing a group of men who were many years older and much bigger than he was, was difficult to comprehend.

Jude went at the guy with the baseball bat, snarling in fury as his sword flashed to cut through the man's arm and then returned to cleave the top of his head off. He stared at the unarmed man standing there cowering, as if deciding what to do with him. A second later, Jude approached the man and snarled.

"GO! RUN!" Jude screamed in a deranged tone, "Count yourself I don't kill unarmed people. If I ever see you again, you FUCKING DIE!"

The man bolted into the forest, and behind me I heard a commotion. I turned to see that the leader had broken free from Daryl and Rick and had picked up Michonne's sword. It looked like he was going to make a run for it, but Jude and I quickly blocked his escape.

"Don't be stupid, Joe." Daryl warned him, aiming a crossbow at him, "It's over."

"You're not leaving alive." Jude snarled, "I'm going to enjoy this!"

Jude and I lunged. I aimed a blow at his arm, but Joes turned and the blow missed as he brought the katana up to intercept Jude's downward chop aimed at his head. Jude aimed another slice at his neck, bringing the sword swinging up in a diagonal slash that missed. He used the momentum of the slash to propel himself into a spin and brought the blade of his sword down again, aiming this time for Joe's shoulder. Again, the hit was blocked, and Joes countered with a slash aimed downwards at Jude's leg, which Jude blocked with ease and sent a kick to Joe's chest, causing him to stumble.

Jude took advantage of the momentary distraction by turning to me and wrenching my machete from my hands. Now with two blades, Jude went on the attack. Blow after blow landed with Joe barely able to block. Finally, Jude swung the machete to be blocked by Joe, and brought the sword up and impaled Joes through the chest. The katana fell to the ground with a clang. Jude withdrew the blade of the sword from Joe's chest and stabbed him through the temple with it. He noticed a revolver on his belt and grabbed it. He marched over to the man who had hurt Connor, and aimed the gun at the body. He fired five of the revolver's six bullets into the man's chest, before retrieving his sword and turning to where the stranger had Connor next to the SUV.

Jude snarled and advanced, the gun aimed at the man's head.

"WHO ARE YOU? GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HIM!"

The stranger stared at Jude for a second, before lowering his hood and removing the bandana from around his mouth.

The man was young, and was staring at Jude with kind eyes. Jude's eyes widened and he dropped the sword and gun to lunge forward with a strangled scream.

"JESUS!" Jude screamed, and it's as if the switch was flicked again as he collided with his brother for the first time in years, wrapping him and Connor in a tight embrace.

"Thank god you're both alright, little bro." Jesus whispered, now beginning to cry himself, "I missed you both, so much."

I stared at them for a second before turning to approach Carl, who had managed to get to his feet. I pulled him into a tight embrace, and he hid his face in the crook of my neck. I stared around us at the bodies, and shuddered.

I had to remind myself that they deserved it, and I reminded myself to never piss Jude off either.

As I stare at the carnage he'd wrought, I'm just glad he's on our side.


	6. Terminal Endeavor: Part 5 (Jesus's Story and Aftermath)

Terminal Endeavor Part 5: Jesus's Story & Aftermath.

Jude's POV:

Connor and Carl cried themselves to sleep.

After everything we've been through, I've never seen Connor so destroyed. Even after our first run in with Terminus, even after getting separated from the family, he managed to hold it together through sheer force of his iron will. Tonight though, he fell to pieces and clung to me, sobbing uncontrollably until he passed out in the back seat of the old Suburban we were camped next to. Carl wasn't much better, and he cried himself out on Bobby. As soon as both of them were asleep, Bobby and I untangled ourselves from them to help with the cleanup. Neither of them woke up.

We burnt the bodies. Daryl built the pyre about 50 yards down the road, and Rick, Michonne, Jesus and I dragged the bodies onto it. Daryl lit the pile with an old cigarette lighter, and we all stood and watched the bodies of our attackers turn to ash. I felt a pang of immense satisfaction that temporarily overwhelmed my fear. My mind wandered back to the first time I ever lost it, and Connor held me as I cried, asking what we were becoming. His answer had been that we were becoming survivors. I tried to cling to that, but what I'm capable of, what we're ALL capable of now… It terrifies me. I basically went Darth Vader on them, massacring a whole crowd of guys twice my size and thrice my age. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice that all but Bobby had wandered back to our makeshift camp, leaving the pair of us standing there.

"Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing…" He whispered to himself.

I turned to look at him with a curious look.

"Huh?" I asked confused.

"It's part of an Edgar Allen Poe quote. It's from _the Raven_." Bobby explained softly, "Thought it was fitting, since that's what you're doing. Staring off into the darkness, curious and afraid about what you're capable of."

"How can you…?" I started to ask.

"How can I tell?" He finishes for me, "Jude, it's written all over your face. You're scared of yourself."

I sighed.

"Can you blame me, Bobby? Before all this started, I could barely stand playing violent video games anymore." I confessed darkly, "But now… I butchered them, Bobby. They are dead… none of them even stood a chance, and I'm just a kid!"

"You're forgetting one thing though, Jude…" Bobby said softly, "You showed mercy."

"How was any of that mercy?!" I exclaimed.

"You refused to kill one of them because he was unarmed." Bobby reminded me, "You know which line you don't want to cross, and you didn't cross it. You showed more restraint than I would have. I would have gutted the son of a bitch."

I stared at him for a minute, and I knew he was right. I had no idea why I was having so much trouble believing him though.

"Think about it, okay?" He said, and turned to head back to the camp.

"Hey, Bobby?" I asked.

"Yeah?"

"What's the full quote?" I asked curiously, "The Poe quote you used?"

He looked thoughtful for a moment before quoting it.

"Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal dared to dream before." Bobby recited.

I looked at him for a second before nodding.

I stood there for scarcely a minute more before I followed him back to where the others sat.

As I approached the small fire they had built, Jesus stood and engulfed me in a tight embrace. I clung to him back, still in disbelief that he was actually there.

"I thought you were dead, little bro." He whimpered into my shoulder, "When we got separated, I thought you were a goner."

"Yee of so little faith." I joked.

He snorted tearily.

"Rick said that everybody else was okay?" I asked.

"Everybody but Mama." Jesus said softly with a trace of sadness, "We got separated from her a long while back. After we lost Mom, she was never… she was never really there, ya know? She kind of lost it. One morning we all woke up, and… she was just gone. We never found her."

I looked down and took a moment to fight back the grief that threatened to overwhelm my senses. It hit me that both of my Moms, the two women who took me in and adopted me into their family and made me feel special and safe, could quite possibly be dead.

"We looked." Jesus continued, "God, did we look… We looked for so long, Jude. But we were all dying at that point. None of us were eating, 'cause B and I can't hunt for shit. Everywhere we looked in that area had been cleaned out, and we needed to move out before more deadies moved in."

"Deadies?" I asked with a snort.

"It's what Mariana called them." Jesus commented with a slight roll of his eyes, "Somehow the name stuck. Why, what do you call 'em?"

"We call 'em walkers." I said, "Anyway, continue."

"Right. Well, we bounced from place to place, really." Jesus continued, "It was really tough on Callie. Ya know, you not being there. Her sanity kind of went the way of the dodo pretty quickly. She stopped talking completely. It was a war every time we'd try to get her to eat. We practically had to force feed her everything. Most of the time, when we weren't on the move, she would just sit against a tree and stare straight ahead. When the… walkers came around though, haha, then she'd come back to it."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"She would fricken lose it." Jesus deadpanned, "She uses a sword, kind of like yours. She goes after walkers, she doesn't stop until he's hit it so many times it's practically liquefied. As soon as it's over though? POOF. Bye-bye psycho crazy Callie, hello catatonic crazy Callie."

I glared at him, and reached over to deliver a firm slap to the back of his head.

"Okay, I deserved that."

"I see an undead apocalypse has done nothing to cure you of your abysmal lack of tact and decency." I deadpanned.

"And I see it hasn't cured you of your legendary predilection for sass." Jesus shot back with a raised eyebrow, "Anyway, that's Callie. Mariana was fine most of the time, just a few nightmares now and then. She was the brains of the group. We'd take old maps when we could find them. She would mark places on maps that we could search for food, meds, ammo and anything useful. Would mark places that we should stay the fuck away from. That kind of thing. She was our tactician. Brandon was basically our leader. We all had an equal say, but Brandon made the final decision."

"I'm surprised you didn't try to be leader." I commented.

"Nah, Mariana would have killed me within a week." Jesus said nonchalantly with a small fond smirk.

I laughed.

"Anyway, one day she found that prison on the map." Jesus continued, "She marked it for search, and Brandon and I thought she was crazy. She went off on a tangent about the place likely having a stocked armory, kitchen, and infirmary. After that we agreed it was worth a shot. We found that the place was occupied by Rick and all them, and they invited us in. Fed us, kept us safe. Then that eye patch wearing asshole shows up and rolls a fucking tank, an actual fucking TANK through the front fence and ruins it for us. You know what happened next."

I nodded and drew him into another hug.

"I'm just glad you're alive, big brother."

***********

Later that morning, I sat in the SUV, with Connor clinging to my side in his sleep. Even in rest, his face was paler than normal, and I feared what he was seeing in his dreams. Carl was asleep in the back, and Bobby was already up and about. I knew for a fact that Connor and Carl were the only ones who slept more than a few hours last night. Rick sat beside the SUV, covered in blood. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Bobby sit down next to him.

"You alright?" Rick asked.

"No. I'm not." Bobby confessed quietly, "I'm… angry. Horrified."

"So am I." Rick said simply, "Just try not to let it get to you too much. They're all dead. You and Jude made sure of that. You protected my son. You killed the sick son of a bitch that was about to rape him. I owe you one now."

"I'd do anything for him…" Bobby whispered softly.

"I believe that. You and your friends? You've earned your place." Rick said with authority, "You're all one of us now."

"Thank you sir."

"Hey, now… it's Rick. None of that sir crap. I'm not that old, the beard just makes me look like I am." Rick said, a teasing lilt to his voice.

Bobby choked out a laugh, and I had to fight the grin that was threatening to take over my face at Rick's pronouncement of acceptance for us.

"Um, there is something else I wanted to talk to you about." Bobby continued, "About Carl and I."

"Go ahead."

Silence follows, and it stretches for a full minute before Bobby breaks it.

"Carl and I… we like each other." Bobby said softly, "Back at the house, we talked about it a bit. We decided that we, um, wanted to be together. We kissed, and um… I realized last night just how far I would go to protect him. To keep him safe. I just wanted you to know, that I will fight till my last breath and my last drop of blood to keep him safe, and alive, and as happy as I could make him."

"So… you two are boyfriends, then?" Rick asks for confirmation.

"Yes. We are, sir." Bobby responds resolutely.

Rick didn't respond for several minutes, but the silence wasn't a tense one. When he finally responded, he spoke softly.

"I know you'll keep him safe." Rick said, "You've proved that already. I know you won't hurt him. You're good for him. He's been acting more like his old self lately with you around. I trust you. I'm glad he's found somebody to be with. That he's found somebody he can love, who can give him the kind of love that nobody else can give him. That's all Lori and I ever wanted for him, was for him to find somebody who loved him. I'm happy for you two."

I didn't have to see Bobby's face to know that he was grinning like an absolute dork.

"Thanks Rick."

"You're welcome, Bobby."

My eavesdropping was interrupted by the weight clinging to my waist shifting. Connor sat up and blinked the sleep out of his eyes.

"Hey." He whispered, "How'd you sleep?"

"I didn't." I confessed, leaning my head on his shoulder, "Couldn't."

"Sorry." He said.

"Don't be." I said sternly, "Don't you dare be sorry."

He looked down at the floor.

"I feel… I feel so weak." He confesses after a minute of silence, "I tried to fight him, Jude. I tried so hard, but nothing worked."

He shuffled and opened the door and stepped out of the SUV. I followed him out and caught up to him quickly.

"That's not all that is bothering you." I said, "I can tell."

"How am I supposed to protect YOU if I can't protect myself?" Connor asked me, his voice shaking.

"You've done a pretty damn good job of it so far."

We turned to see Jesus leaning against a tree watching us.

"You've kept him safe this whole time, Connor." Jesus continued, "You can't beat yourself up this much. Things happen that are beyond our control. This was one of them. You've kept him safe while we were separated. You are the only person I trust with my brother's safety."

"He's kept me safe too." Connor reminds him.

"I know, I was here last night." Jesus agreed, "I saw him go batshit insane. I hope he was that same insanity for when we invade Terminus."

"Rick mentioned that?" I asked.

"Oh yeah. Told us what happened to you guys there." Jesus continued, "Killing those bastards would be my genuine pleasure."

I nodded my agreement, and I only hoped that we could catch up with the rest of my family before we reached Terminus. Either way, I knew that we would wipe Terminus from the face of the Earth.

No matter the cost.

 


	7. Terminal Endeavor: Part 6 (Invasion and Reunion)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After another reunion, the invasion of Terminus begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not fully happy with this chapter.

As soon as we were all able, we moved on.

Rick, Michonne, and Daryl walked at the head of the group, with Jesus, Jude and Connor in the middle, and Carl and I bringing up the rear. Connor had his weapon at the ready, although he stayed mostly quiet, and Jude stayed right by his side with his sword drawn and at the ready just in case of trouble. Jude conversed quietly with Jesus, who was practically glued to Jude's side. Carl stuck close to my side, my hand clenched securely in his.

We walked for about five hours before Rick decided that we would stop and try to set up a small camp for the rest of the night.

Carl stood leaning against a tree, watching Jude hold Connor close. Since they had left the scene of the incident, Connor had been shaking constantly. He looked exhausted, and I honestly was surprised he was holding it together as well as he was.

"Hey, uh, can I talk to you in private?" I asked.

Carl looked to Rick for permission.

"GO ahead." He said, "Don't go far, and be on your guard."

We nodded in agreement and started walking.

"So… I told your dad." I said quietly, "About… how I feel, about you. I told him right after."

Carl stopped and turned to me, a look of surprise on his face.

"Oh. Um, how did he take it?" Carl asked cautiously.

"He said that he knew I'll keep you safe." I said, repeating what Rick had told me, "He said I've proved that already. He knows I won't hurt you. He thinks I'm good for you. He says you've been acting more like your old self with me around. He said he's glad we've found somebody to be with and love. He's happy for us."

Carl sighed in relief.

"Thank god."

We heard the growling seconds before we saw them.

I turned around just as the walker came out of the shadows.

Before I could reach for my machete, a loud bang echoed through the clearing and the head of the walker exploded, covering me in rotting brain matter.

My eyes immediately sought out the source and upon locating it Carl's eyes widened and he ran forward to embrace the source.

"Brandon!"

Standing there across the clearing was Brandon.

"I'm so glad you guys are alright." Carl said.

"Glad to see you made it out."

"Who else is with you?" Brandon asked.

Then I remembered that Jude, Connor and Jesus were with us.

"We found your brothers a few days back." I told him, "They're all okay."

His shoulders dropped with relief.

"Take me to them."

It took a ten-minute walk through the forest before we reached our makeshift camp. As we approached the camp, I could hear Jude and Connor bickering with Jesus about something. Brandon heard their voices and slammed to a halt.

"Oh, thank god." He stammered as his breathing sped up. He bolted forward into the camp. He slid to a stop as soon as he caught sight of them. He stood there and stared at them in disbelief.

Jude turned around to storm away from the argument, and his eyes locked with Brandon. Jude's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Then Connor and Jesus turned and caught sight of Brandon and their reaction was the exact same. Brandon took a step forward, which broke the spell and a second later, they all collided in the center of the camp.

Carl and I left them to their reunion, and we settled down in the backseat of an abandoned car for some sleep. We all woke up at around noon, and set out around an hour later. We knew what nightfall would bring. Sure enough, just as night had fallen, we arrived.

The Terminus compound loomed before us menacingly as the suns started to set. We stood, waiting for the moment to arrive for our invasion to begin. We knew the plan, and we'd all been over it a billion times and had it memorized front to back. As it turned out, though, somebody else was way ahead of us.

Suddenly, when we were preparing to storm the compound, the giant propane tanks that sat behind the fence exploded, sending a plume of fire and smoke into the air and knocking the fence down.

We shared a look of shock.

"Do you see anything?" Rick asked Carl, who was observing the scene through binoculars.

"…It's Carol." He said in awe, before passing the binoculars to his father

Rick looked for a moment before a predatory look stole his face.

"Good girl." He said, "She's using the gut camouflage trick. Let the hunt begin."

The first thing we did when we got close enough was employ the same trick she was using. We subdued a walker and covered ourselves in its entrails.

We made it through the fence, and entered one of the buildings. It was the memorial room. We made our way through, and eventually we entered a smaller room with a ton of equipment and possessions inside.

"This must be the store room." Connor said, "God, look at all the guns."

"Pick up as much as you can." Rick said.

I heard Jude gasp.

The whole room turned to him. He was staring at a table full to bursting with the personal effects of every single victim of Terminus. Slowly, he stepped forward and came to rest in front of the table. He reached out with a shaking hand and picked up a small object.

He turned to everybody, shaking like a leaf.

In his hand, he held a ring. It was small, platinum with a single diamond, and was clearly made for a woman.

Connor gasped because he recognized it too.

"What is it Jude?" I asked.

Connor turned to me and came close enough to whisper in my ear.

"That's his mom's wedding ring."

"She was here." Jude whimpered, "Momma was _here_."

Halfway through repeating himself, his whimper turned to a snarl.

"Those mother _fuckers!_ " He screamed and whirled around and stomped towards the exit.

"JUDE!" Brandon and Jesus yelled.

"JUDE, DON'T!" Connor yelled and ran after him.

His plea did little good, because just as he caught up with Jude, he had opened the door and slipped into the crowd of walkers. Connor didn't even hesitate before heading out after him. We stood frozen in shock for a second before we followed. When we stepped outside, they were lost in the crowd of walkers. We followed the flow for a minute before we saw two figures ahead of us open a door and slip inside.

As soon as we stepped inside…

"Rick?"

We all whipped around to see a man of Korean descent staring at us.

"Glenn." Rick said, extreme relief in his voice, "You okay?"

"Yeah."

"Where is everybody else?" Carl asked.

"There locked in a boxcar." Glenn said, "I can lead you there."

"Good." Rick said.

"You guys go ahead." I said, "I need to find Jude and Connor."

"You're not going by yourself." Rick protested.

"Rick… I'm immune, remember?" I told him, "I'll be fine. I can't just leave them out there. Do you have a flare gun?"

"Yeah."

"Once you get out of here, wait twenty minutes and fire the flare." I told him, "If we don't arrive within twenty minutes after that… just move on. Carl…"

He collided with me, engaging me in the filthiest kiss we'd ever shared.

"You better come back safe." He warned.

"I will. I promise." I said.

I didn't give him a chance to say anything else before I was back out the door in the sea of walkers.

If I knew anything at all about Jude and Connor, they'd go after Gareth. This means they were looking for the main building where the radio broadcasts were made from. After about fifteen minutes of wading through the walkers, I caught sight of them coming out of a building. They caught site of me and motioned for me to follow.

"Follow me," I whispered to them, "He'll be in the main building."

I led them to the right building. We entered.

It seemed like nobody was there.

"GARETH!" Jude screamed venomously, "SHOW YOURSELF! WE KNOW YOU'RE HERE!"

"I knew you'd be back."

We whipped around and pointed our guns at the voice.

Gareth stepped out from behind a wall, pulling a smaller figure with a bag over their head.

Jude grabbed Connor's gun and pulled the slide back.

"All three of our escapees." Gareth continued, sounding almost nonchalant, "Come back to us."

"My mother was here." Jude snarled.

"Still is." Gareth said, "She would've been in the next batch for harvest. She wandered in around a week after you left. Had some guy with her."

Jude cocked the gun.

"You're a fucking monster." I snarled.

I noticed that the smaller figure stopped squirming, and its head turned toward my voice. It started shouting, its voice muffled and indecipherable through the gag and bag over its head.

"Who the fuck is that?" I asked finally.

"Huh. Thought you'd never ask." Gareth said, and pulled a knife from his pocket.

He cut the binds and the figures hands, and removed the bag.

I froze in my spot.

It was a young boy. He couldn't be older than seven years old. He had chestnut brown hair, and tear filled blue eyes. He was shaking like a leaf. As soon as his eyes landed on me, he started crying harder.

It was my baby brother, Harry.

"How…?" I croaked, "But I saw…"

"Rubber bullets." Gareth sneered, "Used in riot control before the fucking zombies. Just knocked him out."

"And you kept him alive."

"He wasn't big enough for harvest." Gareth said simply, before pulling Harry close to him and putting his arm around his neck.

That was his last mistake.

Harry bit down on his arm as hard as he possibly could. Gareth gave a yelp and threw him to the ground. He pointed the gun at him, but we were ready.

Two seconds later, Gareth fell to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut, with bullet wounds peppering his chest. Harry crawled backwards, and I rushed forward and wrapped him in my arms, and lifted him up to carry him.

"We need to find Momma." Jude said.

"We'll talk when we get outta here." I promised Harry, and we ran, me carrying Harry in my arms, back outside.

Walkers were everywhere. Against the back fence of the compound are more boxcars and shipping containers. We went to them quickly, and opened them. In the first three, we found only bodies. In the fourth and final one, we found what we were looking for.

As soon as Jude saw here, he dropped to his knees in front of her.

Her hair was curly, and it was matted all to hell.

She also appeared to be sleeping.

"Momma?"

She jerked awake, and so did the other occupant of the container.

"Jude?" Lena whispered, "Honey, is that you?"

"Come on, we need to get out of here." He urged, grabbing her by the arms and pulling her to her feet, "Everybody is waiting."

We all bolted from the car, Jude practically dragging his mother. I observed the container's other occupant. He was tall, muscular, and had short hair. He was also staring at Jude and Connor in utter shock.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw a light rising into the sky.

"There's the flare." Jude said.

We fought our way to the fence, and one by one, we hopped over it and headed for the spot from which it had been launched. As soon as we were a safe distance from the fence, the stranger called out.

"Connor!"

Connor froze and turned to the man. He only looked for a second before doing a flying leap into the man's arms.

"DAD!"

Jude turned towards the exclamation, and his eyes widened. Together with Lena, he stepped forward.

"Adam?" He asked in disbelief.

"Jude." Adam said, "You have no idea how happy I am to see you."

Jude lunged forward and joined the embrace.

"Thank you for keeping my mom safe." Jude whimpered.

"Thank you for keeping my boy safe." Adam returned, "I should never have doubted you."

"Guys, as much as I love the reunion, we are on a schedule." I reminded them.

Besides, I knew the reunions weren't over, and sure enough. Moments later, Callie and Mariana collapsed into hysterical tears as the Adams Foster and Stevens families were reunited, and Carl collapsed into tears as he was reunited with his baby sister.


End file.
